I have edited my earlier posts and deleted the urls to the clips posted by 56 fans of their new songs. It was mentioned at other forums that 56 was concerned about fans posting clips on the web before their shows are released. Chris Ko of Jstar had also posted his concerns on the settv forum page. The fans will thus remove their clips from the web.

It is understandable for 56 and Jstar to be concerned as the fans may be infringing the rights of the TV stations which had yet to air their shows. Of course, the fans posted the clips with good intentions. Everyone is so curious about their 4th album especially when the fans at the recording sessions sang praises of the new songs. The fans just wanted to share their good performance with us.

Nevertheless, we will be patient and wait for the shows to be aired which will be soon. 56 had put in a lot of hard work for this 4th album and we will definitely buy the original CD to show our support.

Yes. I can see where the concerns comes from. That's good that everyone can respect that. . .I am glad I was able to be online the past few days to get a glimpse of those clips though. . .the anticipation is just building up so much now. XD I just wish the album was already released so I can order it right now. XD

Thanks for the picture. Shaowei and mingdao always wear such strange looking outfits on that show. . .but I like the fact that it's matching outfits. Xiezhi sure looks adorable in that fitting white jacket! renfu's jacket looks a bit too big for him? Wondering why mz not wearing white as well. I like their clothes so far for the promotion though. . .looks very nice, simple, modern and young in a mature way (meaning. . .without the crazy colorfulness).

Wow! that's a really good picture for the banner. Fans sure got lucky to catch that shot.

Some of us needs to learn how to get our priorities straight and others need to start getting some priorities. . .

Thanks for posting the pics, TeresaL. They all look so cute and young in those pictures. I think Xiezhi looks sort of like an elf (in a good way). He has the pointy ears and that intelligent look about him.

In the 2nd last picture with Mingdao, in case you are wondering what's that they are holding, well it's the Beijing Olympics mascots. The 5 mascots are given to 56 by TianLiang, China's diving champion who is now in showbiz. The fans at the event said that Xiezhi "grabbed" 2 mascots for himself. He must have liked the mascots very much because at yesterday's recording for yet another show, there were 2 huge mascots on stage. During the break, Xiezhi squatted next to the red one (HuanHuan??) for a closer look. He must be very pleased to be given the mascots today.

As for the news reports today, the China press are quite factual and neutral but as usual, the Taiwanese press has nothing nice to write about 56. Wonder what sort of news coverage will they get when they hold their news conference in Taiwan next week.

Bonniec1 - The official pre-sales will only start on 21 Dec 07. However, in Singapore we are able to order the 4th album since 7 Dec. I guess we can place our order earlier because 56 will have a pre-sales autograph session here on 17 Dec and fans can bring along the free poster for them to sign. Btw, I am also checking Yesasia because I want to get the China version as well ... I want their desk calendar.

exadel, did you get the private message I sent you about posting pictures? Did you still have trouble after trying that process?

Yeah. . .lol. xiezhi grabbed two mascots. It's so cute. . .he had his hands full hugging them. Didn't know xiezhi likes cute little plushie things that much. XD It was so hard to hear them talk from the clips I saw though. The sound was terrible. I couldn't even hear mingdao's voice on the speaker when he called them on stage.

Is it just me or xiezhi is nowadays extra cute in front of the camera and on stage. Like when they took the pictures. . .I noticed he did those really cute poses next to the cardboard person. Maybe getting into character with the hair. . .la. XP

Last edited by Cinnamon; 12-14-07 at 09:52 PM.

Some of us needs to learn how to get our priorities straight and others need to start getting some priorities. . .

Cinnamon, many thanks for your private msg. I will now paste the pre-sales card I got when I ordered the 4th album (the front cover then the back).

Let me know whether you can see the images. I hope the images show up because 56 will be in Singapore tomorrow (Sunday 16 Dec) for our Star Awards. They will meet the press on Monday morning, followed by the pre-sales autograph session in the evening. This means that we will finally have some news reports on 56 in our local newspapers and magazines. If the images work, I can then share the reports with you.

Btw, the poster that comes with the pre-order is too large to be scanned but the picture is the same as that on the front cover.

I agree that Xiezhi seems cuter and younger at heart these days. Perhaps he has to be more serious when in Taiwan in keeping with his image as band leader, Director of Publicity (don't really know how to translate his designation) and Big Brother in Jstar. He seems to be more relaxed whenever he is overseas.

Yep, pictures show up clearly. Thanks for sharing the postcard. I hope can preorder mine soon. . .hmm. . .can't remember what would go with online preorder. Waiting seems so long.

I love their clothes in the pic, 'cept for the metallic of MZ's jacket. >_> Also like the fact that xiezhi looks deceptively tall in the pics. XD Exadel, will you be going to their autograph session? You are so lucky to live in that area.

Like bonniec1 said. . .North America is so far away. . .they'll never be over here. I wonder if 56 has enough fans over here to possibly write to warner entertainment regarding sending them here.

Some of us needs to learn how to get our priorities straight and others need to start getting some priorities. . .

Just some info first - 56 explained that like all Chinese, they are proud that Beijing will be hosting Olympics 2008. The song Bravo is thus their small contribution to this joyous event. In the China album, the song is called "Bravo Beijing 喝采北京" which they sing with Sun Nan, a well-known China singer. For the other countries, the song is simply called "Bravo 喝采 " and sung by 56 only. They said that there are no love songs in their 4th album. Instead their songs will be about their fans, everyday life and of course the Olympics.

I guess 56 wants to emphasize up-front that there is nothing political about their 4th album. We all know how ultra-sensitive is the politics between China and Taiwan.

As I mentioned earlier, the China news reports are factual, i.e. they mentioned the 4th album, their collaboration with Sun Nan, who wasn't able to attend the press conference so 56 took pictures with his cut-out. Because 56 said that they like sports, esp water games so the host called TianLiang. And then about Mingdao making a surprise appearance and presenting them with a world map, wishing them success throughout Asia.

As for the Taiwan press, they wrote about 2 issues only:

1) That 56 is cozying up to China (抱中国大腿) by having the press conference in China, sharing a song with a China singer and calling TianLiang during the event.

2) That the China reporters were unhappy that China and Taiwan are in different colours on the map, implying that Taiwan is an independent country. The Taiwanese reporters claimed that in their attempt to please China, 56 had instead angered the China press.

It is funny how 2 such different reports can be written about a same event. About the map, Sun Zhong explained that it was a careless mistake by the staff and has nothing to do with 56 or Mingdao. He took sole responsibility of it and wrote an apology note on the Jstar (Beijing Branch) website. Btw, the fans at the event said that the staff were seen colouring the map whilst the press conference was in progress, so it is probably a very last-minute idea.

There are about 10 news reports from China and NONE of them mentioned this sensitive topic. They did state that Mingdao presented a world map to 56 but absolutely no mention of the "colour" issue. I am glad the China press are more sensible and separated entertainment from politics.

Ironically, it is their own Taiwanese press who are keen to destroy 56 efforts in gaining a stronger foothold in the China market.

The map:

And I just can't resist pasting more pictures of Xiezhi and his precious mascots:

Btw, at one of the shows that they recorded earlier, Xiezhi mentioned that they will hold a concert in China if their 4th album sells well there.

56 will be in Singapore shortly, at about 12.50pm today and followed by a series of activities. If your time permits, perhaps you may try to see if you are able to listen/view these events online. Of course, what I have listed below are the Singapore dates and times:

As for the Star Awards tonight, which will be from 7pm to 10pmhttp://starawards.mediacorptv.sg/live.htm
Estimated time of their appearances at Star Awards (as provided by Jstar):
7.40pm - Mingdao presenting Best Supporting Actress
8.00pm - 5566 presenting Best Newcomer
9.00pm - 183 Club presenting the 10 most popular female artistes
10.00pm - 5566 singing Bravo

bonniec1, thanks for your kind words. Sometimes I wonder if I should post these info here as I am unsure if you gals would have already read them from the other forums. There is a lot of up-to-date info about them in the Chinese forums, especially from their fanclubs.

As to why the Taiwanese press gives such negative reports on 56, I guess either Sun Zhong or his staff must have antagonised the reporters in some ways. In one Taiwanese Talk Show, an ex-reporter who used to write entertainment news, said that they will give bad reports on an artiste if they do not like his/her management team. E.g. if a reporter wants to interview a singer, but his manager rejects his request or is rude to him, the reporter will from then on not write anything nice about that singer even though they know that the singer is not aware of what his manager had done.

Now, about more pleasant things - 56 and HuangYuRong arrived at Singapore airport at about noon yesterday. The turn-up was good and according to a fan, there are more than 100 fans at the airport. It was quite chaotic - guess the Singaporean fans hadn't seen 56 for a long time and were very excited. Mediacorp, our local TV station arranged for 4 bodyguards to escort 56 but the fans still managed to get close to and chase after them. Xiezhi cheekily told the fans "don't push me, go and push Renfu".

I am glad that 56 still gets such a warm reception here. Even at yesterday's Star Awards, the fans cheered wildly whenever 56 made their appearance, just like before. I am sure 56 must be pleased with the reception as afterall they have been relatively quiet for the past 2 years and there's hardly any news about them in our local papers.